The world's first diode based on superconductors is created

Hello dear guests and subscribers of my channel. Today I want to tell you about one extremely important event in the world of electronics, namely, the successful creation of the world's first superconductor-based diode.

Who created the new diode

Japanese scientists have finally managed to create the world's first diode consisting of superconductors, which conducts electric current in one direction without any resistance and does not pass it in friend.

The authors of the work done were physicists from the University of Tokyo Tosiya Ideue and Yoshihiro Iwasa, who commented on this event in the following way:

"This type of diode has just a huge potential, because they are not only possible, but also necessary use to create various electronic gadgets in which energy consumption will be absolutely minimal.

In addition, devices with such diodes will have ultra-high sensitivity to electromagnetic fields.

What is the role of a diode in modern electronics

We all know perfectly well that no modern electronic device can do without diodes. And the main task of the diode is the unhindered passage of current in one direction and its complete blocking in the other.

Also, diodes are key components in rectifiers, light emitters, etc. The first diode was assembled back in 1874, but to create a new diode based on superconductors, it was necessary to do a tremendous job and solve the main problem.

What was the difficulty in creating a new diode

The main problem was that a diode is realized by combining two or more components. So, in the initial attempts to connect superconducting materials in the places of their contact, non-zero resistance was always observed.

Scientists have proposed to use the so-called non-centrosymmetric superconductors, which are designed in such a way that they have no "inversion center" in crystals.

It is this fact that endows superconductors with unique properties. Having studied them, Japanese scientists have created the thinnest film of a non-centrosymmetric superconductor by alternating nanolayers of niobium, vanadium and tantalum.

Each of the above elements is a superconductor (at low temperatures). So in the course of experiments it was found that if you place the created film in a strong magnetic field, then its properties change dramatically.

Classical superconductors with such an action would lose their properties, and the layered film would be transformed into a superconducting diode. And it began to freely pass current in one direction and block it in another.

Just as curious is the fact that the polarity of a new over diode can be easily changed simply by "turning" the magnetic field.

The implementation of a superconducting diode is a very important step towards creating a new generation of electronics.

Scientists have shared the results of their work on the pages of the journal Nature

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